


A Proper Goodbye

by biblio_witch



Category: Avengers: Endgame - Fandom, Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Endgame goodbye sucked, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, I had to fucking fix it, Team as Family, alternative ending, endgame spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-11 11:56:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19109173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/biblio_witch/pseuds/biblio_witch
Summary: Team Cap gets the goodbye they deserve.





	A Proper Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> I realise that their goodbye happened at the ruined Avengers compound, but I only realised that after I'd watched the movie a second time, and I started writing this the first time I saw the movie, SO the goodbye is set at Tony's house. Just in case anyone had the urge to correct me xo

"Let me come with you."

"No."

He didn't waste time feeling surprised by the answer; he'd known Steve would say no. His chest still gave a twinge of hurt, of protest, at the idea that Steve no longer needed him at his back or by his side. Not that this was a new revelation. In fact, he'd known from the first moment he'd had to glance up at Steve rather than glance down. That was the moment he knew that his best friend no longer needed him.

It didn't stop Bucky from needing Steve, though.

"It took every Avenger to get those Stones. How're you gonna put them back on your own?"

"Putting them back will be easier." Steve wouldn't look at him. He was pottering around the bedroom, fussing with drawers and clothes and belongings.

The house was unfamiliar to Bucky; Tony's house. He'd felt bad even walking in the door, skirting passed toys and photos and the loitering people. He'd avoided Pepper and the little girl at all costs. He'd have climbed up the side of the house and through the window if Wanda hadn't called him a dick for suggesting it.

"You don't know that." Bucky insisted. "You'll have to go to  _space_ , Steve. If you won't take me, take Sam. Or Wanda."

"Why would I take Sam or Wanda if I won't take you?" Steve cut him a sharp glance, exasperated. "You know you're my first choice. I'm not taking anyone because this is my job."

"You're so full of shit." Bucky snapped. He pushed off the doorjamb and kicked the door shut with his heel. Better to guard against anyone catching his cursing. "Your job my  _ass_. Thor would take those stones. Clint could. That new lady could absolutely take them back."

"Danvers has more than one world to look after." Steve sighed, "Clint has a family. Thor doesn't want to fight again, not so soon. Not after Tony. Someone has to do it; the stones can't stay here."

"I'm not saying you shouldn't go. I'm saying you shouldn't go  _alone_. You could be gone for years."

"I'll be gone for a couple of seconds."

"On this end. I sure as shit don't get the whole time travel thing Steve, but I know it's going to be a lot longer for you than it will be for us."

Steve scrubbed a hand through his slicked-back hair, dislodging the careful style. "Everyone deserves to rest."

"You say that like you don't-"

"Plus," Steve spoke over him loudly. "The suits were made for the individual. You don't have a suit? You can't travel."

Bucky ground his teeth. He'd been hoping there wouldn't be a practical reason. He'd hoped it was just Steve's stubbornness. That was usually the only reason needed.

"I'm going, Buck." Steve sighed, and slumped down onto the edge of the double bed. His shoulders curved inwards, held down by the weight of the fight that still wasn't over. "I'm sorry you can't come with me,  _really_ , I am. But... This is a fight you can't follow me into."

For a wild second, Bucky wanted to punch the righteousness right out of the bastard. Though, if there was a chance a beating could make Steve a little less...  _Steve_ , then Bucky would have kicked his ass a long time ago. Well, more times than he already had, anyway.

With a scoff, Bucky joined him on the end of the bed. Sat down heavily by his side, bumping him over with his metal elbow. Steve grumbled but shifted, and they sat there in silence for a moment. Steve was staring into the vanity mirror opposite, looking more at Bucky than at himself.

"Sometimes I think I miss being small." Steve huffed, flicking his gaze to his own face. He didn't get tired often, but his face definitely looked it. The shiny newness of his past self that he'd faced in New York had unsettled him. That man had seemed full of fire. Full of... His belief. His belief in glory, in honour. In the world, and the Avengers.

He was pretty sure that fire had been snuffed out.

"What?" Bucky quirked an eyebrow.

Steve sniffed, shook his head. "Nobody looked at that kid. Nobody ever turned to him for help or answers or to lead. It wasn't on him to fix the problem."

"I told you not to join the army."

"Did you just hit me with a 80 year old  _'I told you so'_?" Steve demanded, aghast.

"You bet your ass I did." Bucky grinned, and they chuckled. Bucky trailed off, frowned, looked at the floor. "I wish I'd never gone to war. We should have stayed behind together."

"Probably." Steve nodded, grave and suddenly serious. "Especially for your sake. I want a peaceful life for you, Buck, because you deserve it more than any man I know. I'd die to give it to you." Bucky didn't doubt that he would. "That's why you're not coming with me."

"Steve-"

"If the roles were switched," Steve snapped, cutting him off. "If I had a metal arm and been through decades full of pain and suffering and misery, would you drag me back into that? Would you do that to me, James Barnes?"

Bucky wanted to lie. He wanted to tell him to shut his mouth and stop coddling. Bucky could handle it. He could fight. If it meant bringing Steve home safe... But, there was no point lying. Steve had always known when Bucky was lying, even before he'd got fast and strong and whatever else.

"No." He said through gritted teeth, grudgingly. "You know I wouldn't."

"Well then," Steve said.

And they left it at that.

***

They left the house together. Steve wanted to leave quietly. Too kind to make a big deal out of his departure when everyone in the house was so subdued. Many had already left; Scott's group, Carol and Fury, T'Challa and his family. The Guardians were staying for a few days to repair their ship and stock up for the journey. Clint would stay until Wanda was ready to go.

Sam and Banner were already waiting by the machine. Steve was in his stupid suit. Bucky decided that red and white as a colour scheme was a poor choice.

"You look dumb." Sam said, casting an eye over Steve's suit.

Steve squinted at his friend. "Were you skipping leg day in the soul stone or what?"

Bucky snorted.

Sam and Steve had already spent time together, scheming; plans for if Steve returned, plans for if he didn't. Bucky would get the apartment in Brooklyn, Sam would stay close by. The world would keep on turning if Steve didn't survive this trip, but if he didn't get those stones back to their original timelines...

The thought was more trouble than anyone wanted at the moment.

Steve moved in to hug Sam.

"Look after yourself." Steve said, just in case.

"Back at ya." Sam gave him a slap on the back. "We'll get pizza for dinner."

Steve laughed, stepping back to squeeze his shoulder. "Sure."

Sam looked to Bucky, who was frowning into the distance. Then to Steve, who looked more than a little apprehensive of Bucky's face. Sam decided he didn't want to stick around for that goodbye. With a sigh and another smack for Steve's shoulder, he moved towards Banner. Out of the Hulk and the Winter Soldier, Sam was sure that, at the moment, Hulk was the safer option.

"Sam," Steve's voice made him glance back. "Thank you. For everything."

For a moment, Sam could only nod, because the lump in his throat was too large to speak around. But he didn't want to leave it at that. "It's been my honour, Steve."

The two watched Sam walk away, stood almost side by side. Bucky was staring at the machine, fighting the urge to ask, again, if he could be a part of this mission. It would be childish to ask, ridiculous. Bucky used to be able to convince Steve into recklessness with only a smirk. It seemed the days of mischief for the fun of it were behind them.

"What do you want me to say, Buck?" Steve asked, without looking.

"I dunno." Bucky was struggling with his voice. "That you'll be careful."

"I'll be careful."

"That you'll survive."

"I'll survive."

"That you'll put your life before the job."

Steve hesitated and Bucky's glare turned icy. "I'll put my life before the job."

Satisfied that Bucky's thunderous face had lost some of it's roughness, Steve turned in for a hug. Bucky's torso was less likely to break than Sam's, so Steve squeezed without fear of causing pain. He poured everything he couldn't say into that embrace. It would take him too long to say thank you to Bucky Barnes. It would take too long to tell him what he meant, what he deserved, what he was worth.

"Don't do anything stupid until I get back." He said into Bucky's metal shoulder, the surface softened by the thick sweater he was wearing.

It was enough to make Bucky laugh, and some pressure in Steve's chest lifted as Bucky returned. "How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you."

They pulled back but did not let go. Instead, they grasped each other's shoulders for a moment. Steve looking at Bucky and Bucky looking at Steve, a century of history passing between them. Those early days, when Bucky had taught him to fight and to dance, though they'd both been much better at dancing. Later on, laughing around campfires, in forests, in broken cities and cold mountains. The days of the war, though interrupted with intense flashes of fear and violence, they hadn't all been bad. There'd been adventure, and travelling, and so much bravery. Friendship too, and a belief in their cause and their fight. They'd had faith in each other. They'd been inseparable.

After that, things got a little hazy, but they were stood together now. That was worth something.

Steve blinked quickly to guard against tears. "You were my brother before I even knew what it meant to have one."

Bucky huffed a laugh and let his eyes glisten. "Love you too, pal."

Steve grinned and they let go, turning towards the machine that would carry Steve too far away.

Before they could move, there was a whistle of air and a heavy thump of feet on earth. They turned together to see Wanda straighten from her landing. The red energy that had carried her flickered out like a spluttering match.

"You were just going to  _leave_." She accused, eyes narrowing.

Bucky decided that was not a goodbye he was keen to stick around for. The spot beside Sam and Banner looked a good enough distance to escape Wanda's glower.

Steve glared at Bucky's retreat before turning with a wince to the young woman. She'd crossed her arms over her chest and was staring at him with fire in her gaze.

"I didn't want to make a big deal out of it." He offered, pitiful.

Still she stared, the pretty green of her eyes giving way to a hellish, coppery tinge. These days, the crimson barely left her gaze. Some days the glow of her power would linger from morning until night. Other days, the green and the red would mix and merge. Her desire to remain nonthreatening and her anxious need to be on guard a constant inner battle. The magnificent power that bubbled beneath her skin quivered, always, in anticipation.

Everyone was doing a poor job of believing the fight was over.

"I'm sorry, Wanda." He offered, and knew now that it was a mistake to slip away. From her, especially. Everyone else had someone else. Wanda... Well. Wanda not so much.

She seemed to accept the apology, but still flinched back when he took a long stride forwards. Steve's face crumpled, hurt, but she did not move to embrace him.

"There has been too many goodbyes," She murmured, and her voice cracked. "Please don't make me say another."

Sam and Bucky, who were pretending not to listen nearby, winced. Steve felt the searing burn of her accusation, and the guilt felt like a physical blow to the stomach.

She'd lost so much, he reasoned. Her parents. Pietro, who she had not been separated from for a day in her life, until the day he had died. Vision. Natasha, whose death had delivered Wanda to her knees when she'd been told.

Natasha had missed Wanda during those five long years. She'd even taken to sleeping in Wanda's bed back at the compound. They'd become close, in those years before the Accords, and stayed close after.

Wanda and Steve though, they'd grown closer. He loved her. And despite having the he power of a nuclear weapon packed into her veins, he was fiercely protective. For her, Steve had slowly and surely filled the void that Pietro had left. Not entirely, never entirely, but he'd been there.

"C'mere." He ordered, and opened his arms, and this time she didn't flinch back, but leapt up instead. He tilted with the momentum, catching her around the ribs as she cast her arms about his neck. She hung there, feet far above the ground, with Steve pinning her securely to his chest.

"I'm only gonna be gone for a couple seconds." He reasoned, voice muffled because his face was buried in her neck.

Wanda's chin was on his shoulder, so she had a clear view of Bucky, whose eyes narrowed at the words Steve muttered. When Bucky caught Wanda watching him, he didn't have the nerve to look away. Her insides tightened with dread.

"Just in case, then." She replied on a shaky breath.

He set her on her feet, but still she clung for a long second. Stretched high, right on her tiptoes, reaching above her head to keep her arms around his neck. She breathed him in, breathed him out. He stroked a broad hand down her back, through her hair, which looked like spun gold in the afternoon sun. She let go with a sigh, clasped his biceps so she could look up into his face.

"I'm going to come back." He said firmly. Because her cheeks were flushed and her nose glowing, and he'd never been able to deny her anything.

"Yeah," she sniffed and scrubbed her nose. "But Steve-"

"Let's not say goodbye." He squeezed her waist, which he still had a hand on. "I'm sick of them too."

Chuckling, she shook her head. "It wasn't a goodbye. It was a thank you."

"Wanda-"

"Shut up," She pressed a hand over his mouth, glowering. "Would you shut up? You know I don't like being nice. Let's not make a big deal about it."

He snorted, "Go on then."

She took a breath, and looked at his stupid broad chest, to avoid those stupid blue eyes. They'd always been too honest. Too kind. Too patient with her.

"You gave me a family, Steve." Wanda said it fast, stumbling over the words because her voice was starting to shake. "Even when I wasn't worth one." He started to protest, but she spoke over. "I want to say thank you, Steve Rogers. For this extraordinary life you've given me."

Steve looked away, swallowed unsteadily, looked back. Into eyes, he noticed, that gleamed a beautiful mossy green. Not even a hint of scarlet energy.

"You're worth the world, Wanda." He leaned down to press a kiss against her forehead, like he'd done a thousand times. This one felt different though, this one felt a little... Final. "Stay strong."

She huffed, wrapped her arms around his waist. "Stay safe."

They turned towards the machine. He kept his arm around her shoulders and she kept her arms around his hips, holding on for as long as possible. Sam and Bucky watched them approach. Both were glad that the anger had left Wanda's expression. Although Bucky felt a twinge of protest at the glisten of tears on her thick lashes and the pink hue of her nose.

Wanda and Steve let go, and Steve moved to collect the briefcase of Infinity Stones and Thor's hammer.

Bucky watched Wanda watch Steve, her lips pursed and trembling. When her gaze flickered to meet his, he offered an elbow along with a wane smile. With a grateful breath she latched on, wrapping both hands around his arm and inching into his side. The curve of his metal elbow settled against her stomach, but she didn't seem to mind.

"All set." Banner reported, voice steady.

"Well," Steve said, on the bottom step of the machine. He opened his mouth, closed it, and climbed the steps onto the platform that would carry him away. Once there, he looked down. Looked at his collection of family. Bucky and Sam and Wanda. Blue eyes and brown eyes and green eyes, all watching with apprehension, with fear. All willing to come with him, if only he'd allow it. They all would. They could go together. He didn't have to carry the weight of the world, they could take a corner each and lift it together. But it was their willingness to follow that stopped him from asking; they deserved to rest. They deserved peace. They'd given so much. Suffered so much. Loved him... Too much.

He was repaying that love, he reminded himself. He would go alone, and they would stay, and some of his debt to each of them would be forgiven. He'd asked so much of them. Bucky followed him into Germany, against Hydra. Sam had followed him in Washington, against Shield. Wanda in Germany, against half the Avengers, her friends. Many times after, too.

"I'll come back." He promised, and felt the weight of that settle in his stomach. Like an anchor, to these three pieces of his soul. Each thread tethered to one of them, shining and golden and bound like steel cables.

They watched him, Sam stoic, Bucky tense, Wanda anxious.

Banner started to press buttons, turn dials. The machine started to whirr to life.

Bucky felt panic grip his heart, real, breathtaking panic that spoke of true terror. He needed to say something, something important, but he wasn't sure which words to use.

Wanda tensed at Bucky's side. Thankful the arm she had hold of was a sturdy one, unlikely to break or crumble in the death-grip she was applying.

Sam wanted to look away, unwilling to watch his friend disappear, maybe forever. Who knew what Steve would be when he returned, if. If he returned.

"Ten seconds." Banner called over the racket the machine was making.

Bucky felt the breath leave his aching chest. "Hey punk!"

Steve locked eyes with his oldest friend. His brother.

Bucky set his jaw and narrowed his eyes. "You do what you have to."

"Eight seconds." Banner called.

Steve was looking at Bucky, eyebrows furrowed.

"For you, Steve." Bucky said it with a steady, firm voice. "You do what you have to for  _you_."

"Six seconds!"

Bucky allowed a small breath, looked straight into his friend's face. "Don't you worry about us."

Sam turned away with a small grunt of displeasure, eyes squeezing shut.

Wanda was looking up at Bucky, horror on her face as her mouth dropped open.

"Four seconds!"

Steve nodded, the bond glistening bright, unbroken, strong, between the two of them. Echoes of one another. Separated by time and tragedy. Brought back together by sheer stubbornness. Love and respect and admiration. Sheer, undiluted gratitude at having spent a lifetime beside one another.

"Two seconds!"

Wanda looked in time to see him turn a smile on her. A tilt of his lips that said thank you, said forgive me, said good luck and goodbye.

And then... Then he was gone.

Static crackled, like even the air was protesting the loss of Steve Rogers.

Wanda, with a shuddering breath, shut out the empty space where he was supposed to be standing. Shut her eyes, shut out the world. Shut out this new reality where she didn't have Steve to depend on. Sometimes it felt like he was the only thing keeping her bolted to the surface of the Earth.

She twisted blindly. Turned into the swell of warmth at her side. Dropped her heavy head onto the curve of Bucky's shoulder. Pressed her aching eyes into the dark of his sweater.

"I'm going to bring him back in five-" Banner was calling.

"He's coming back." Sam said with fierce resolve.

"Four-"

"Yeah." Bucky agreed.

"Three-"

Wanda's heart gave a painful spasm, but she did not lift her head. "Say it again like you mean it." She hoped Sam hadn't heard.

"Two-"

Bucky didn't reply. She felt the swell and fall of his chest. Let the motion lift her and drop her. Her knuckles brushed his heaving ribs as he tried to breathe.

"Bringing him back!"

A high, screeching sound as the machine heaved with effort.

A sound like a shotgun blast, or a boom of approaching thunder, but Wanda did not have the strength to flinch. White hot heat rolled off the machine in waves, choking everyone gathered so close to it.

Silence.

More silence.

Even the breeze had fallen still, as if in mourning.

"Tell me he's stood there." Wanda whispered against Bucky's shoulder, eyes squeezed tight together. Her voice cracked.

Bucky was looking hard at the floor, unable, unwilling, to look up at the platform. "We both know he's not." Was the reply he had to give.

With a small, miserable croak, Wanda began to weep.

"Where is he?" Sam demanded, hysterical. "Where the hell is he, Bruce?"

"I don't know! He flew right past his jump point!"

With a shaky breath, Bucky looked up at the empty, smoking platform, but could manage only a moment. Instead, he shifted, turning on the spot and opening up his arms. Wanda's cheek thumped against his chest and her hands bunched in the material of his sweater. When his heavy arms settled around her shoulders, she did not tense up or protest or struggle free, but clung on. 

Bucky let his chin rest on the crown of her head. The sour tang of green apples clung to her copper hair, distracting him. Her shoulders felt small in his big arms, her body snug in the broad expanse of his chest.

Sam was still yelling, and Wanda still weeping, when Bucky felt a small tingle of unease. He cast his eyes outwards, towards the lake. He felt it, almost like a tug, like a snag of rope around one of his ribs. Like a bond that could not be broken. He could be mistaken... Surely he was...

Bucky's arms dropped from around Wanda's frame.

The bench in the distance, right on the shoreline, was occupied.

He stumbled, as if in a dream, around Wanda and towards the bent figure.

"Bucky?" Wanda's voice was shaky as it chased him.

He was already running, full of panic, full of anger, full of absolute disbelief.

It took him only a moment to stagger to a halt beside the bench. To rush round it. To look down into the face of the man sitting there. His legs would not hold him, and his knees gave way, and he caught himself on the stone bench on his way to the floor. He knelt in the mud and in the grass, staring in horror.

"Bucky? Bucky what the hell-"

He looked up as she arrived, breathless with her run, orange hair flying, eyes wide and worried. She looked at him and then at the man, and then she staggered too. Her hands went to her mouth, horror flooding her face, and then-

"Sam!" She yelled, and spun away. "Sam!" She ran back towards the machine.

"I think I look pretty good." Steve grumbled, rubbing at his wrinkled cheek and patting down his wispy white hair. "Not sure why you're all being so dramatic."

"You fucking bastard." Bucky snarled. For a wild, unhinged moment, he questioned the depths of his morals in regards to hitting pensioners. Before he could draw any sort of conclusion, Sam arrived at a breathless run with Wanda right behind.

"Steve?" Sam demanded, aghast. "Tell me it's not you."

"Sorry, pal." Steve grinned. Something about the eyes, with a spark of mischief, left no room for doubt.

Bucky struggled to his feet and turned out towards the lake. Eyes on the horizon, on the heavy clouds in the distance. He would allow himself to breathe, just for a minute, while he struggled with his temper and his control.

"Still crying over me, Wanda?" Steve shifted his body round - slowly - to look at her. She had the back of her hand to her mouth, attempting to keep a grip on the sobs sticking in her throat. "It's been about sixty years."

"It's been about ten seconds you asshole!" She spluttered, half-choking on the words.

When Steve offered his hand, palm up, she took it and let him usher her down into the space beside him. Wanda did not miss the glint of the gold band on the fourth finger in, nor the strength of his grip. He didn't wrap his arm around her, like he would have done a minute ago, decades ago- Oh, Wanda's head hurt.

"Was it a good life, Steve?" Sam asked, voice a little distant, hands on his hips and head bowed. It seemed he was struggling with his breathing.

"It was."

"Was it worth it?" Bucky asked. His voice was not choked with sadness or tears, but with an anger that he could not stamp down into his stomach. No matter how much he wanted to.

Steve took longer to answer, and Wanda thought that this was probably the best move. "Mostly." Was his reply.

Wanda let loose a gasping sob. "What will happen now?"

"I suppose you'll have to look after each other." Steve smiled into the distance, confident in this idea.

"What about the  _world_ , Steve?" Sam looked up. He too, had the quiet, simmering resentment that Steve had decided to leave them all behind. "What happens to the world now that there's no Captain America?"

"Well," Steve's smile was self-congratulatory. He'd been thinking of this for a long time. "I thought I'd do something about that as well."

He reached round passed his hip, and grabbed the rounded canvas bag resting against the edge of the bench. His hands were steady as he lifted it, shifting it round so it rested against his knees. With a tug he loosened the string holding the canvas, and the glint of red, white and blue made everyone inhale.

This shield seemed... Cleaner. This one had no scratches, no marks, no stains of soot or blood or mud. No scars, from being welded back together. This shield had come from a softer world. Less troublesome. This world had known peace, and this shield had not been needed often.

Wanda looked from Sam to Bucky to Steve, and scrubbed a shaky hand over her face. "Well, as much as I know you'd like me to take on the mantel, I already have  _my_  superhero persona." She stood, flipped her mane of orange hair over one shoulder, and rounded the bench in one smooth motion. "And Scarlet Witch is way cooler than Captain America."

She set off, wanting to give them all space and set on crying in private.

"Wanda."

She stopped, took a breath, turned back to the old man on the bench. Her Steve, no longer her Steve. His eyes were bright and warm and full of intelligence, full of apologies, full of joy.

"Yes, Steve?" She tried to keep her voice steady, for her sake more than his.

"Stay strong." He said, and the love in his voice, all for her, was new and old and full of genuine emotion. And she knew that no matter how many decades he had lived or how long it had been for him, she'd never been forgotten. He never stopped loving her, or thinking of her.

Her lip trembled. The crimson power flickered to life around her hands in response to her distress. "I am... So  _happy_ , that you stayed safe."

When her voice broke on the last word, Steve shifted, as if to move to his feet, but she lifted her hands to ward him off. Swiped at her eyes and her damp cheeks.

"Don't get up," She ordered, backing away. "You'll probably... Break a hip or something." She fled before she could start properly sobbing, which would embarrass all present.

Bucky watched her go, hands in his pockets and brow creased. Steve watched him watch her, and was surprised but pleased. When Bucky spoke, his voice was resolved. "Let's not waste more time than we have to. We all know that shield ain't mine either."

Steve looked down, but Sam blanched, mouth falling open. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"C'mon, man." Bucky rolled his eyes and gave him a good-natured thump on the shoulder. "He's not travelled through time to deliver that frisbee to me."

Sam's eyes became wider than his mouth. "But you're the  _Winter Soldier_. You're faster and stronger and more indestructible than I am."

"Captain America wasn't ever about that." Bucky said fiercely, knowing Sam already knew this. "He deserved that shield long before he got taller than me." Bucky cut a scathing look at Steve, who was smiling serenely. "Punk."

"Jerk," Steve cut back without pause.

"The thing is," Bucky turned back to Sam, "The world doesn't need someone fast and strong. They need someone to believe in. That person is you, Sam." Bucky squinted into the distance, "I never had the right kind of... Righteousness, for the job anyhow."

Steve snorted, and did not flinch when Bucky turned an icy glare on him.

"I'd be honoured to follow you, Sam." Bucky delivered a small smile, and he, too, started to leave. He assumed some advice would follow the giving of the shield. No doubt instructions on how to be the biggest, most ridiculous dumbass in the whole world. Best not to stick around, if only for the sake of his blood pressure.

"Buck," Steve's voice stopped him, as surely as it had stopped Wanda. Bucky wouldn't look though, couldn't. Wouldn't. Same thing. "You were the only person I ever needed watching my back."

Bucky's eyes flicked upwards to stop the tears that threatened. He looked back, looked down. At the old man he could have been. At the life he could of had, if only Steve had let him come along. He cast aside his anger, his resentment. This was not the place for it. "I reckon I did a pretty good job of it, too."

Steve's eyes glistened for the first time, and his nod was solemn. "The best job, James. I'm alive because of you. I'd be nothing without you."

Bucky let some of his tears spill over, and his voice was thick with them when he said; "I guess this is the end of the line, pal."

Their hands clasped between them, one wrinkled, one metal, both changed. Both... not what they should have been. Both full of violence, full of strength. Of nightmares and tragedy and glimmers of happiness. The shimmering bond hadn't dimmed despite the decades between them now.

"I think we both deserved to get off a few stops back, if I'm honest." Steve replied, and his tears spilled free too.

That was enough of a goodbye, neither could take anymore.

"I'll see you around, Buck."

"I'll see you first, old man." He gave Steve's hand a squeeze, not too hard, of course. He let go and turned, and with every step away from the bench he felt a little lighter, and a little calmer. A little more content with all that had happened today. "Wanda!" He called, and he felt glad when she turned back.

Steve watched Bucky jog the distance after her. There was a flicker of surprise in him when Bucky lifted his arm to settle it around Wanda's shoulders. She wrapped her arm around his waist. Steve hadn't known they had that sort of ease with each other. Then again, it had been a strange sort of day.

"Not sure when that happened." Sam said, and he was looking after the pair too.

Steve shrugged, "They're both a little weird."

Sam scoffed. "Yeah." He shot a glance to the wedding band on Steve's finger. "I'm happy you did this for yourself. I'm happy you got a full life, even if I am a little pissed."

His eyes crinkled as he smiled. "I had a choice to make. Now you've got one to make too." His hand tightened on the outer edge of the shield, which was polished to a gleam. "You don't have to take this, Sam. You can walk away. This can settle in a museum somewhere, next to Tony's suits. But if you want it, if you think the world needs it, then it's yours."

Sam looked back at the house, full of his grieving family. He thought about all the other families that were currently grieving. Some of them returned after five years. Some of them changed beyond recognition after that time. He thought of the world after Thanos. He thought of the world he wanted to live in. They were not the same thing, he realised. What is and what could be. What he could do to change it all.

He looked out at the lake. Contemplated his ability to do good. His ability to do something to fix everything. Only... He wouldn't be following anymore.

He'd be leading.

He reckoned he was just fine with that idea.

When he turned back, Steve was already holding the shield up high. Straps facing upwards, ready for it to be lifted.

Sam lifted it.

Steve finally let it go.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I didn't want to change the actual narrative dramatically (Steve would have returned home after finding the Stone, if it were up to me) however I did just want the goodbyes a little more satisfying. A little more beefy, ya know? Hopefully I've done that!!


End file.
